Márquez tops "past Rookie" comparison

In the build up to next week’s second Sepang MotoGP™ test of 2013, Spanish magazine Solomoto has added a historical twist, as it scored Marc Márquez as top rookie ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in their respective first tests.

Repsol Honda’s Márquez made an instant impact early this month as he narrowly missed out on third spot in Sepang in his first official outing of 2013, with only his teammate Pedrosa, and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi ahead of him.

Solomoto dug up the times of the three Spaniards in their first seven outings on their respective MotoGP machines - Pedrosa in late 2005, and Lorenzo in late 2007 - and compared how they fared against their then-fastest counterparts.

Bearing in mind a few outings to adapt, and varying circumstances during their first outings on the machines, taking the data from their respective third tests gives a clear indication. Whilst Márquez and Pedrosa both went to Sepang for their third time, Lorenzo was at Jerez, which is why the comparison was done in percentage difference to the top riders.

And it shows that Márquez has clearly delivered. He was within 99.76% of the quickest, whilst Pedrosa 99.346% and Lorenzo 99.11%, placing Márquez ahead of his rivals this year. Yet with Lorenzo on two premier-class titles and Pedrosa not having won one yet, albeit coming very close at times, many will say this has little significance.

Lorenzo’s magic number in his first year was "3". Three consecutive pole positions from the first race, three podiums from the start, and his first win in the third race. Pedrosa scored a podium on his debut, but it took him until race four to get pole position and win.

And it is these figures that Márquez will care more about, with the youngster known to have an immense ambition to win – despite playing it down for his maiden year. But what the figures will prove - and his rivals will no doubt be aware - is that he could challenge for wins from the word go!